Carzago Castle

Carzago Castle, locally known as Castello di Carzago, lies in the village of Carzago Riviera, in the Brescia province in the Lombardy region in Italy.

Carzago Castle was built during the 10th century as a refuge for the locals in a reaction to raids of Hungarians frequenting the area. In Italian, these kinds of refuge castles are called a 'ricetto'.

The castle was taken and destroyed by the citizens of Brescia in 1110. After it was rebuilt, the Holy Roman Emperor Henry VI donated the castle to the monastery of Leno in 1192.

I could not find anything more about its history. Probably its small size, and it being the property of a monastery, diminished the castle's military importance. The keep / gate tower was converted into a bell tower for the local church at some point in time. Its plastered exterior gives it a modern appearance.

Today there are only a couple of houses standing inside its walls. Carzago Castle can freely be visited.

Carzago Riviera is situated in an area called Valtènesi. This area roughly encompasses the hilly lowland between the southwest bank of Lake Garda and the mountains. During the 10th and 11th century several settlements in Valtènesi built similar castles as Carzago; like Bedizzole, Moniga, Padenghe, Polpenazze, Puegnago and Soiano. So, if you like castles, this is surely an area to visit.

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